Scarlet Night (Limited Edition)

by Megan Parker

  Keith and the therion watched, sharing the same calm expression of entertainment as they took in the show.

  “D-don’t—AHHH! FUCK! Fucking hell!—d-don’t…” Zane whimpered and tried to feed his starving lungs but was throttled on a wave of pain as his spine reformed vertebrae-by-vertebrae. Though there was no air to fuel the words, his threats continued to flow: “… do-don’t you fucking LAUGH at us!”

  Keith chortled and looked around for effect, “Zane—my dear, psychotic friend—are you lost? Who, pray-tell, is ‘us’?” he hauled back and drove the pointed toe of his dress shoes into Zane’s chest, smirking as most of his ribs shattered audibly like the snapping of wet twigs. “Or are you sharing this broken bag of meat you call a body with another? Let’s have a look-see at the damage…”

  Zane’s eyes flashed and shifted—a whirlwind of colors flooding his vision as the night went neon and shifted into a different spectrum—and he could suddenly see Keith’s blood-red aura emerge from his chest like a hungry serpent and writhe towards him. The sight sparked something in Zane and beast, and both erupted into cackles that were funneled through their shared mouth and echoed into the night. Keith’s aura wavered, pausing at the laughter and withdrawing slightly as Zane’s dark-blue aura flickered like a dying flame before erupting into a fiery scarlet.

  Both Keith and his mind-enslaved therion stepped back. “How in the hell—”

  “We’re just FULL of surprises, fucker!” Zane snarled, his aura firing forward and taking Keith by the throat. The symphony of shifting organs and reforming bones reached a crescendo then, and the beast—now fully emerged—stood and sneered. “It’s time we made you pay!”

  Keith gurgled and whimpered as he struggled to breathe through the auric hold the beast had on him.Unable to escape this now hulking creature that towered over both of them with disproportioned limbs that now surged with new muscle, their focus was lost upon seeing the leering, horrific face that was almost entirely occupied by a twisted, fang-filled grin and a pair of gold eyes that took them in with malice and hunger.

  “We will kill you! We will make you suffer!” His voice rolled past blackened lips like magma as the auric tendril around Keith’s neck playfully rolled at the base of his skull, “And in your dying moments, we will RAPE your every thought with torment until all there is left of your existence is USSSSS!”

  With that, the beast invaded Keith’s mind with its aura and ensnared his mind, crippling his hold on his motor functions and auric control.

  Released from his hold, the therion’s eyes widened as control was returned. As her awareness settled in, her gaze locked on the monster before her and she whimpered and fell back, scrambling to get away.

  The beast growled, watching the therion flee the scene and disappear in the distance before smirking wickedly and shifting its gaze back to Keith.

  “We can SEE inside your mind, Keith! And, soon enough,”—he traced a clawed finger across Keith’s sternum in a slow slicing motion—“we will see inside the rest of you!”

  Another bout of cackles issued.

  “I…” Keith growled and narrowed his eyes, “… I got something to show you, then, you abomination!”

  The beast’s hold on Keith’s mind tightened as all defenses dropped and a slideshow of memories began.

  It was Gregori!

  He was alive!

  Alive?

  How…?

  The darkness surrounding Zane’s mentor shifted and waned as Keith and the shadowed forms of several others emerged on the scene.

  Echoes.

  Fragmented words; shouting.

  Gunshots.

  Blood.

  “DO YOU SEE NOW, ZANE? ARE YOU DEEP ENOUGH YET? HAVE YOU HAD YOUR FILL?”

  The slideshow looped and reeled, reflecting Keith’s memories of Gregori’s death—his murder!—in all corners of Zane’s mind.

  “YOU PAID TO SEE THE SHOW, ZANE! WOULDN’T WANT TO HOLD ANYTHING BACK!”

  The beast’s aura retracted, releasing its hold on Keith and fleeing from the horrific visions. Head reeling, the ground came up to meet it and Zane was distantly aware of the cold pavement and his hot tears scorching down his twisted face. Though the tie had been cut, Keith’s visions burned and echoed inside him as he was forced to relive that night with the new truth over and over and over…

  Keith had killed his own father!

  Gregori’s death was no accident!

  “What’s wrong?” Keith snarled, rubbing his throat as he spit up a mouthful of blood on him and pulling out his gun once again, “Too shook up to fight?”

  “W-we are NEVER too shook up to fight, asshole!” Zane roared, launching himself at Keith and swinging his massive arm in a wide-arc at Keith’s face.

  The vampire growled and vanished before the attack could land. Not about to let his enemy elude him, Zane jumped into overdrive as well, his body and mind working exponentially faster to allow for superhuman movement that was otherwise unseen by the human eye. Keith’s eyes reflected his rage as Zane met his pace, rendering his gun useless as the two moved faster than any bullets could.

  Without knowing it, Keith had given him the advantage.

  Though his curse was crippling to his mind, his body’s ability was nearly limitless! As blow-after-blow was landed, Keith’s speed began to waver; his energy rapidly dwindling.

  And the beast was only getting started!

  Overdrive was just another tool to kill, and the curse made killing very simple. Control and reason were another story, however, and as his excitement and cockiness rose, his focus dwindled until…

  Keith’s aura shot out like a freight train that caught Zane square in the chest, throwing him out of overdrive, out of the alley, into the street, and embedding his body into the side of a parked car.

  The car’s alarm blared and pierced Zane’s ears; filling his head with chaos. He struggled to block out the noise, crying out in agony as his senses were flooded. His massive body pitched and writhed in an effort to free itself from twisted metal as his warped tattoos began to glow brighter. Prying himself free, he stumbled forward and worked to steady his footing. The alarm’s racket continued, and with every focus pulled towards the repetitive shrieks and flashing lights he lost sight of the rest of the world.

  Again and again he brought his fists down on the car in an effort to silence it, but his actions only served to alter the pitch and tone and drive his rage further.

  When he was certain that the alarm’s howls would drag him over the edge, a red flash of light emerged and tore the battery from the hood—stopping the racket in an instant—and slammed it into the side of his head.

  Dazed, he turned his attention to Keith as his aura retracted and he advanced casually towards him.

  Zane let out a loud howl as he shot forward.

  He needed to kill!

  “Serena!” Zoey’s eyes went wide as her body tensed, “We have to get to the city! Right now!”

  “Whoa! What’s the sudden rush?” Serena frowned, eyeing the auric skeptically, “Won’t Zane have a shit-fit if we don’t get back to the clan?”

  “That’s just it! It is Zane! He’s… he’s trapped in a… he’s in a fight! He’s in the city and… oh god! We have to hurry!” Zoey stammered.

  Serena frowned, hearing the desperation and panic in Zoey’s voice and nodded. “Hold on, this isn’t going to be pleasant!” she warned, grabbing the auric by the wrist and rocketing down the street in overdrive. Though the added weight made her movement sloppy and lagging, they were still able to make the journey in only a few seconds. Seeing they were close, Serena shifted back to a normal speed and stared in shock at the chaos as Zoey struggled to come to grips with the sudden change in scenery.

  The sound of alarms and the stench of smoke filled the night, and the air was so saturated in auric energy that Serena could actually hear it hum. She frowned, seeing that Zoey was still dazed from the trip and barely able to stand, and tried to get a lock on Zane’s aur
ic signature.

  Who in the hell was he fighting anyway?

  She stepped to the smoke-filled streets, blinded by the thick haze and forced to follow her other senses.

  “You’re going to have to do better than that!”

  Serena frowned, a violent surge filling her at the familiarity of the voice in the distance and she charged towards it. In an instant the air went clear—the smoke being held back by an immense auric force—and she found herself face-to-chest with a…

  “WHAT IN THE FUCK?” She cried out and tried to back-peddle, stumbling and falling back. The monster’s ears perked and its eyes closed in like Hellish spotlights on her. “Wh-who… what are you?” She cried out as the beast stepped closer and loomed over her and threw a fist the size of a beer keg at her. “Oh go—Zane! Help!”

  The monster’s attack froze only inches from her and she whimpered, blinking against a pocket of air that carried specks of dust and ash into her eyes. Startled, she looked up into the gold eyes of her would-be attacker; its face shifting from one of fury and murderous rage to something soft and nervous.

  Biting her lip, she started to stand, hoping her movement wouldn’t spark the monster’s anger again.

  But it only stared, blinking and whimpering.

  “S-Ser-en-a…”

  Her eyes widened. “Za—”

  “Well, isn’t this just precious? The beast has a soft spot for you, sis!” the painfully familiar and condescending voice chimed in behind her.

  She growled and spun to face her brother. “Keith!” a new surge of anger welled within her as her brother’s smirking face came into view and she instinctively formed her auric bow in her hand, “What the hell are you doing here?”

  “Missed you too, you horrid little bitch, I’m sure we have so much to catch up on. However, in case you haven’t noticed, I am rather busy and now is not the time to reminisce. I have a bit of unfinished business to conduct with our late-father’s favorite project.”

  Serena! Watch out! Devon’s voice echoed in her head just as Keith threw his aura at them. The world shook and the street cratered as the blast connected and Serena felt the ground vanish beneath her as the Zane-monster scooped her up and pulled her against his massive body and shielding her against the flames and debris as they singed and punctured his back. Sensing the pained surge in Zane’s now-red aura, Serena’s eyes widened and she disbanded her auric bow to try and shield him against further harm. The damage had already been done, however, and he let out an agonized howl as his knees buckled and a pool of blood grew at their feet.

  “Oh god, Zane! What’s—”

  “Don’t!” his voice made her flinch, “We’re…” he growled and shook his head, “I’m fine!”

  She glanced up, about to call him on his obvious lie but was only able to cry out as he lifted her and jumped out of the range of another of Keith’s attacks and landed on the rooftop of a used car dealership. Though he’d gotten them clear of the danger, his injuries proved too severe and he buckled and collapsed shortly after setting her down. He groaned, writhing and heaving, as his hulking body seized and his aura inflated and grew bright enough to force her to shield her eyes.

  A pained cry issued out that made her insides shift and she tried to squint past the glare of his aura to see what was happening to him. After a moment, the blood-colored orb dimmed and collapsed, turning back to Zane’s familiar blue as it lazily bobbed around his broken and naked body; his mismatched eyes swimming in his skull before focusing on her.

  “Serena…?”

  “Jesus… Zane! What… what’s happen—” The gentle sound of steps approaching cut off Serena’s panic and she turned, her aura flaring as she hissed at her brother, “Keith! I don’t know what this is about, but I swear on our mothe—”

  “Oh shut up, you self-righteous cunt!” his aura spiked and he bared his fangs, “You couldn’t hold your own in a challenge against me when you were in your prime! And you and I can both see those days have long-since left you a husk of our family’s former glory! Now step aside before I’m forced to make an example out of yo—AHHH!” Keith dropped to one knee as the jagged remains of a parking meter—now a makeshift spear that flooded the rooftop in blood-covered coins—jutted through his shoulder.

  “I think you should go, Keith,” Zoey floated gracefully to the rooftop with another three parking meters orbiting her in an auric grip, “before I’m forced to create a job-opening in The Council!”

  “Gah!” Keith gripped the hunk of metal protruding from him and winced in pain, his aura whipping and darting chaotically, “You wretch! You sodding—Ah! Dammit!—interfering little whelp! I’ll see to it that you’re all made examples of!” Focusing his aura, Keith gripped the meter with his aura and yanked it free, crying out as he did. As his breathing steadied, he narrowed his eyes at Serena, “I don’t know what you think is going to happen, but you’ll see in time the error of becoming involved with these peons!”

  “God dammit, Keith! What is this all about?” Serena demanded, drawing back her auric bow.

  Standing, he shook his head, “In due time, Serena. When I’m not…” he glanced at his bleeding shoulder, “When I’m better equipped to handle my affairs, I’ll see about showing you some degree of mercy.”

  Serena drew back her aura, preparing to strike, “Don’t do me any favors, you little shit!”

  Keith smirked and shrugged, stepping away from the three and towards the rooftop’s edge, “Consider it sibling hospitality, then, but I assure you that you’ll not want what’s coming to them.”

  And then he was gone; vanishing into overdrive.

  “God damn you, Keith!” Serena snarled, releasing her aura and running to where he’d been standing in the hopes of seeing some sign of him in the distance, “Don’t you dare run off! You fucker! Get you and your cryptic bullshit get back here NOW!” She screamed out.

  “Serena, stop! He’s gone!” Zoey was still shaking from earlier. She turned to Zane’s unconscious body and shook her head, “We need to get him to the clinic! Fast!”

  “But what about—” Serena frowned as the first wail of sirens sounded in the distance. She knew that the cops, fire department, EMT, and anybody else with any authority in the humans’ world would be crawling all over the place soon enough, and itwas in their better interests to not be standing around —beaten, bloody, and accompanying an unconscious, naked man—when they arrived. She growled and nodded, abandoning her hopes of tailing Keith, “Let’s go.”

  “Thank God for small favors!” Serena grumbled as she used her aura to steal the keys to one of the cars on the dealership’s lot, “I don’t know what we’d do if I had to try and hotwire a ride.”

  “I still don’t see why we have to steal the car!” Zoey frowned, hoisting Zane into the back seat of the convertible with her aura.

  Serena sighed, “Because I left my checkbook at home! God, Zoey, are you serious? If we’re standing around when they flashing lights show up do you think us jacking a car when there’s all this”—she motioned to all the damage in the streets and finished her arc with a nod to Zane—“is really going to be their main focus? We’ll be lucky if we aren’t brought in as terrorists! Besides, he’s too heavy for us to carry and I can’t travel with both of you in overdrive!”

  Zoey blushed. “I suppose that’s true…”

  “Fuckin’ A it’s true! Now get in!” Serena hopped over the driver-side door and nestled into the cushioned leather seat and ran her fingers over the steering wheel with her left hand as she fed the stolen key into the ignition. “Oh, baby! Where you been all my life?”

  Zoey frowned and looked over. “What was that?”

  Serena pouted and shrugged, “I said ‘this’ll have to do’.”

  Zoey frowned and shook her head, sighing nervously. “Should we at least leave a note or something?” she asked, chewing her lip.

  “Nah. The thing’s probably insured, and if it’s not they have it coming. Besides, what would you wri
te? ‘So sorry to have stolen your car. Better luck next time’? Yea, real badass!” she shook her head and shifted into gear before slamming the accelerator to the floor and rocketing out of the lot; “Where’s your sense of adventure?”

  Zoey whimpered, pressing her hands against the dashboard to secure herself, “I… I think I left it back there, actually!”

  Serena rolled her eyes and turned sharply onto the next street, running the light and hopping the curb as she did. “Shit! The steering’s loose! Piece of junk!” she frowned as the sirens’ wails grew louder and she realized they were coming from ahead. “Aw, dammit! Zoey, a little help?”

  “If I do will you slow down?”

  “Not likely, but at least we won’t have an entourage of law-enforcement following us all the way back to the clan!”

  Zoey groaned in defeat.

  Serena smiled, “Knew I could count on you!”

  As the emergency response crew neared, both Serena and Zoey’s auras darted out, entering each and every mind and cloaking their escape as they passed.

  “God damn, Zoey! We make one hell of a—” the headlights of an ambulance caught the windshield as it changed lanes, the driver unaware of the car in its path due to the pair’s auric blinders, and Serena flinched as the impending collision approached. In an instant, the world around them went blue as Zoey’s aura wrapped around the car and yanked it to the left and out of the path of destruction. “Holy shit!” Serena’s eyes went wide as she watched the tail lights of the ambulance disappear in the rearview mirror, “I mean, wow; that was adventurous, huh? Look at that, they took off the mirror on your side!” she cackled and slapped her left knee, “Damn, Zoey! I should drive with you more often!”